MLK Saratoga

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BHM SPOTLIGHT #10: FREDERICK ALLEN ELKS LODGE #609 — Saratoga's Heart of Soul

Beth Rowen

Through the decades, the Frederick Allen Elks Lodge has represented the vibrant strength of our African American community. Frederick Allen Lodge #609, nicknamed the Black Elks Lodge, and its women’s auxiliary counterpart, the Mary A. Carter Temple #362, represent the thriving African American community that once surrounded the Congress Street entertainment and commerce hub. Before the Urban Renewal of the late 1960’s (or “Urban Removal,” as experienced by Saratoga’s POC), skilled craftsmen, independent business owners, churches, stores, restaurants and working-class homeowners filled the West Side neighborhood. Today, the Frederick Allen Elks Lodge #609 still stands, serving multiple humanitarian purposes, as they continue to host charitable initiatives and nurture a true sense of a vital and vibrant community for their members, neighbors, and fellow Saratogians!

Under the current Lodge leadership — helmed by Brothers Kendall Hicks (Exalted Ruler), Bill Stanley (Secretary /Treasurer), and Tommy Davis (Chairman of the House) — there is strengthened vision and expanded efforts to rehab the historic 1845 building’s infrastructure, while generating new community outreach and internal engagement. (See GoFundMe campaign below!) New Spring hours are coming and an updated Associate Membership drive is underway. Come by for a visit and bring a friend … then stay for the community! After all, our community IS your community — and whatever is coming “tomorrow” is going take all of us coming together “today”!

Btw, the Frederick Allen Elks Lodge #609 is one of 10 sites on MLK Saratoga’s OURstory Treasure Hunt, an interactive experience for all ages that illuminates the history of People of Color here in Saratoga Springs. You can access the Treasure Hunt HERE and download a pdf of more detailed information on the Lodge HERE. Enjoy and share the fun!!

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